Child{3 s all purpose seat

ABSTRACT

The seat has a lightweight tubular frame which surrounds the child and has fixed front legs and a telescopically adjustable rear leg, which allows the seat to be self supporting or be placed on a chair or other support. An upwardly projecting horn incorporated into the seat fits between the child&#39;&#39;s legs and prevents him from sliding forward, and the frame provides convenient means for carrying the seat with the child in place.

O Unlted States Patent 13,572,830

[ Inventor A"hurl 3,052,500 9/1962 Hyde 297/130 Mackahldah" 3,078,101 2/1963 Reese 297/134x 8 1969 FOREIGN PATENTS ie at. [45] Patented Mar. 30 1971 6,412,511 5/1965 Netherlands 297/230 Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner-James C. Mitchell [54] CHILD'S ALL PURPOSE SEAT Atmmey KmX & Knox 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl .1 297/390, 297/130, 297/134, 297/230 [5 Int. Cl. The Seat has a tubular frame which 0 h 247 surrounds the child and has fixed front legs and a telescopi- Fleld ofSearc Cally adjustable real. g, which allows e Seat to be Self sup 1 421 porting or be placed on a chair or other support. An upwardly projecting horn incorporated into the seat fits between the N E SZ X?SS ;Z?TENTS child's legs and prevents him from sliding forward, and the U frame provides convenient means for carrying the seat with 2,858,882 11/1958 Personett 297/390 th hild i place CI'IILD'S ALL PURPOSE SEAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to furniture and specifically to a child's all purpose seat.

Seats for small children usually have belts, straps, or some other retaining means. Some are free standing and others have hanger means for attachment to a support, such as the back of a chair or a vehicle seat. Convertible types usually have several adjustable or folding parts and a child can be injured by inadvertent manipulation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The seat described herein has a lightweight tubular frame which surrounds the child on both sides and at the back. At the front are fixed legs and at the rear is a telescopic leg, so that the seat can be free standing or, by retracting the rear leg, can be placed on any suitable support. To hold the child in place, the forward portion of the seat has an upwardly projecting horn, which fits between the childs legs and is of sufficient height to retain the child without straps or the like. The seat is easily carried by the frame structure, with the child in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of the seat;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the seat with the rear leg retracted; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The seat is basically a simple tubular structure having a generally U-shaped lower frame with downwardly turned legs 12 at the forward ends of the side rail portions 14. Above the lower frame 10 is a similar but shorter U-shaped upper frame 16, at the forward end of which are downwardly turned posts 18 fixed at their lower ends to the side rail portions 14. At the rear the frames are interconnected by an upright, tubular rear post 20 in which is vertically slidable or telescopic leg 22 having a nonslip tip 24. The leg 22 has spaced sockets 26 which are engaged by a detent pin 28 to hold the leg in extended or retracted positions, said detent pin being biased into engaged position by a leaf spring 30, as in FIG. 3. Other types of detents may be equally suitable. At the forward end the legs l2 are interconnected by a crossbar 32 for added rigidity. The frame structure is preferably welded, although bolt attachments could be used for dismantling and storage.

Fitted within the lower frame 10 is a seat panel 34, comprising a panel of plastic, leather, or the like, which is shown generally flat but could be contoured in a suitable manner. The forward end 36 of the seat panel 34 is curved downwardly between the legs 12 for comfortable support under the knees and in the forward central portion of the seat panel is an up wardly projecting horn 38 of smoothly contoured shape, which may be integral with or attached to the seat. The horn 38 tapers from a relatively broad base to a rounded upper end and the rear side has a curved face 46, approaching the vertical. The complete seat panel 34 is secured to the lower frame 10 by a plurality of straps 40 looped around the frame and retained by suitable fasteners 42, such as the snap fasteners indicated in FIG. 5, which facilitate removal of the seat panel for cleaning.

The seat as illustrated in FIG. 1, with the telescopic leg 22 extended, is a low, three-legged chair which can be placed on the floor, on a table, or other surface. The child is held upright in the frame structure and the horn 318, which fits between the childs legs, prevents the child from sliding out of the seat. The horn should be on the order of several inches in height, so that the child must intentionally rise or be lifted if he is to move forward over the hom.'The tubular upper frame 16 provides convenient handle means for carrying the seat with the child in place.

With the telescopic leg 22 retracted, as in FIG. 4, the seat can be placed on a conventional chair 44, indicated in broken line, to hold the child at normal chair height. The nonslip tip 24 and the straps 40 rest on the chair surface and prevent the seat from skidding.

In either use, or while carrying the seat, the child is held securely in place without the need for straps or a belt. With the leg retracted the seat could also be placed on a vehicle seat and a conventional seat belt passed around the child or around post 20.

Iclaim:

1. A childs seat, comprising:

a rigid tubular frame having an upper portion and a lower portion;

said lower portion having downwardly extending fixed legs at the forward end and a telescopically adjustable leg at the rear thereof; and

a seat panel secured in said lower portion.

2. The structure of claim I, wherein said seat panel has an upwardly projecting child retaining horn on the forward central portion thereof.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said horn is tapered upwardly with a rear face approaching the vertical.

4. The structure of claim 2, wherein said upper portion is substantially U-shaped enclosing the back and sides of the seat.

5. The structure of claim 3, wherein said lower portion is substantially U-shaped and said seat panel is removably secured therein. 

1. A child''s seat, comprising: a rigid tubular frame having an upper portion and a lower portion; said lower portion having downwardly extending fixed legs at the forward end and a telescopically adjustable leg at the rear thereof; and a seat panel secured in said lower portion.
 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said seat panel has an upwardly projecting child retaining horn on the forward central portion thereof.
 3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said horn is tapered upwardly with a rear face approaching the vertical.
 4. The structure of claim 2, wherein said upper portion is substantially U-shaped enclosing the back and sides of the seat.
 5. The structure of claim 3, wherein said lower portion is substantially U-shaped and said seat panel is removably secured therein. 